The scent of burnt wood and old incense lingers in the air.
Zenji lights a single candle on the modest vanilla cake, its soft glow casting shadows across the worn-out photograph beside it, depicting a picture of his long-dead mother. Sitting alone, he sucks in a breath and blows on the flame, putting it out.
'My sixth birthday, and I chose to spend it alone.' He thinks to himself, leaning back on the chair, his mind drowning in the what-ifs.
Maybe if he hadn't gone out that day, his mother would have still been alive. And if that didn't happen, he would have ended up in the orphanage system and had to fight his way out of it.
Then that would mean he would have never joined the X organization. And maybe if he didn't, he might have had a wife to sit with, a grandchild running around the kitchen, and his own child gifting him gifts.
'Then again. I wouldn't have found my only passion in life. I might have never been this happy'. His eyes flicker to his side, where his rack of countless guns hangs on the wall, staring back at him with pride. 'Yep. Wouldn't change a thing'. He grins, wrinkled and weak.
Knock! Knock!
Snapping his head to the door, he walks towards it with caution. Moving the steel cover of the peephole, he sees no one. Pulling the pistol from the waistline of his pants, he slowly opens the door.
'An attack? That can't be. None that saw my face lived to see so. Only my colleagues,' he thinks. 'And they would never let my location slip.'
His eyes are immediately drawn to the letter on the floor. Serving the area, he picks it up, closing the door, then makes his way back inside, back into his chair.
"I wasn't expecting any today." He murmurs.
Scanning the envelope, he notices there's nothing around it to identify where it had come from, so he opens it. A golden light immediately illuminates the dimly lit kitchen.
Kenji's eyes widen.
[SSS tier Assassin class mission!] The letter is written in a deep black against the gold of the parchment. [End Zereth Cain's life!]
'Is this paper playing with me right now?' He flips his head around to see if it's Scarface playing a sick game on him. But there's nobody around. Putting out his fingers, he gently touches the text.
[Link established!!]
The systematic golden screen plays over his head.
"What the hell?" He tries to touch it, but his hands pass right through it.
[Greetings, mortal.]
"H…Hello." He voices out loud.
'Does old age have me hallucinating, or is this actually happening?'
[This is as real as your world. Human.]
"S…Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." If talking to a hologram didn't make him spiral, apologizing to one sure did. 'What am I doing?'
[You have been chosen…]
"Chosen? For what?" he asks.
[You are to enter a new world. One where your skills are needed. One where your target still lives, searching for a way back to this one.]
Zenji stiffens. 'Don't tell me.'
[Zereth Cain lives.]
The text turns red, as if it's a warning, which it is. Zenji's heart plummets. The name Zereth Cain brought a sour taste to his mouth. He thought he was dead, rotting in the grave, and his soul was carried to the deepest parts of hell.
'But I watched.' He flies up, shifting his chair back. 'I watched him take his last breath. I saw the light leave his eyes. 'I killed him with my own revolver.' He shakes his head. 'So what do you mean he lives?'
[He lives in another world. Due to a rogue god, Zereth didn't follow his predetermined path to hell. But instead was revived into a new world.]
'A new world, huh?' He sinks into his chair. 'It figures.' He scoffs into a laugh. "The fucker can't stay dead. We've been fighting each other for years on end since the beginning of my hitman days. I'd expect nothing less."
[Zenji, do you accept this request to defeat Zereth Cain for good?]
[Yes/No]
"Would I ever give up a chance to defeat him? Never," he clenches his fist. 'Yes.'
[Welcome back out of retirement.]
[Your assignment: eliminate him once and for all. But know this—this new world is unlike your own. Magic, monsters, ancient powers... they all exist there. As for the current weakened form, you will adapt into the body of Lux Maxwell.]
"So it's completely different from ours." He rubs his chin. "And I'll have no understanding or full knowledge of that world. Can you give me a quick synopsis of the world?"
'And who in heaven's name would call their child Lux Maxwell.' He ponders deep down.
[The world Axis is one set in a medieval realm. Thought magic is the largest aspect of the world's standing. But among the wondrous world of magic, they are the hidden organizations, monster cults, and the human-faced demons living in the shadows amongst everyone.]
"I see, so like a VRMMORPG game?" He inquires.
[Precisely.]
"I understand."
[Your mission is composed of: starting over your life, assassinating the evildoers from the shadows, and defeating Zereth Cain.]
Zenji's eyes narrowed. "Starting over…?"
[You will be reborn. As a young 17-year-old man, entering the academy of Heritage. But your memories… your skills… will remain.]
He leaned back in his chair, processing the madness being presented. "So let me get this straight… You want me to start all over, from the ground up again, in some fantasy world… just to kill the bastard I already took down once?"
[Affirmative.]
"That…sounds…like fun." He smirks, containing his anticipation. 'This world is already finished for me. I am old without any purpose but to rest until I die on a medical bed or alone in my sleep. So why would I give up this opportunity?'
[Prepare yourself.]
The golden glow intensified, filling the room. Zenji stood, feeling his body grow light, like smoke caught in the wind.
"What happens to me here?"
[You die. Peacefully.]
"…Tch. Figures." He looked once more at his wall of guns, then at the small, half-eaten vanilla cake.
"Guess sixty-seven candles would've been too many anyway."
The world dissolved in a burst of light.